Oribel Capital Management LP Invests $3.75 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Oribel Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,753,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,870 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 388.9% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 113,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,053,000 after purchasing an additional 90,105 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $9,366,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Ares Management by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 463,805 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $82,107,000 after purchasing an additional 55,641 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 10.0 %

ARES opened at $117.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $113.24 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.38.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.